April PP outlook gauged in Europe amid higher c3 and mediocre demand
by ChemOrbis Editorial Team - content@chemorbis.com
In Europe, the PP market is expected to remain bullish moving into April given the expectations of further increases in propylene contracts. According to ChemOrbis Price Wizard, spot propylene prices reached 32-month-highs, widening their premium to almost €225/ton over March propylene contracts.
Source: ChemOrbis Price Wizard
Most players have bullish expectations for next month as maintenance shutdowns at crackers will peak in April-May. However, some players who believe that producers enjoyed high margins amid lower naphtha and crude oil prices think that there may not be significant increases in the contracts next month. “As for April, we heard that increases of €50/ton may emerge in propylene contracts,” said a distributor.
Meanwhile, downstream demand is not satisfactory, according to some players, as buyers are mostly sidelined while waiting for the propylene contracts.
Buyers are lamenting about low margins as they failed to pass the increases onto their end products. “We are focused on running down our inventories as our end product demand has recently slowed down and we only buy fresh material in small amounts,” added buyer.
An Italian buyer commented, “We received a Korean homo PP offer with late April delivery at €1240/ton DDP through a reseller, but we are planning to negotiate for a discount as the seller seems available for slight discounts. Supply is not tight, except for some copolymers as we faced no problems in securing material this month. If demand remains stagnant in the first part of April, sellers may decrease their prices in order to achieve better sales.”
Source: ChemOrbis Price Wizard
Most players have bullish expectations for next month as maintenance shutdowns at crackers will peak in April-May. However, some players who believe that producers enjoyed high margins amid lower naphtha and crude oil prices think that there may not be significant increases in the contracts next month. “As for April, we heard that increases of €50/ton may emerge in propylene contracts,” said a distributor.
Meanwhile, downstream demand is not satisfactory, according to some players, as buyers are mostly sidelined while waiting for the propylene contracts.
Buyers are lamenting about low margins as they failed to pass the increases onto their end products. “We are focused on running down our inventories as our end product demand has recently slowed down and we only buy fresh material in small amounts,” added buyer.
An Italian buyer commented, “We received a Korean homo PP offer with late April delivery at €1240/ton DDP through a reseller, but we are planning to negotiate for a discount as the seller seems available for slight discounts. Supply is not tight, except for some copolymers as we faced no problems in securing material this month. If demand remains stagnant in the first part of April, sellers may decrease their prices in order to achieve better sales.”
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